"One score and four he reigned, the Southland king: A dragon coiled, a tiger poised below the mighty Yangtze."Sun Quan (traditional Chinese: 孫權 ; simplified Chinese : 孙权 ; pinyin : Sūn Quán ; Wade-Giles : Sun Chuan) (182 - 252) , son of Sun Jian , courtesy name Zhòngmóu (仲謀) , formally Emperor Da (the Great) of (Eastern) Wu was the founder of Eastern Wu , during the Three Kingdoms period , in China. He ruled from 222 to 229 as Wu Wang (King/Prince of Wu) and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of the Wu Dynasty.
In his youth Sun Quan spent time in his home county of Fuchun , and after his father's death in the early 190s , at various cities on the Lower Yangtze River. His elder brother Sun Ce carved out a warlord state in the region , based on his own followers and a number of local clan allegiances. When Sun Ce was assassinated by the retainers of Xu Gong , whom Sun Ce had killed in battle several years prior , in 200, the eighteen-year-old Sun Quan inherited the lands southeast of the Yangtze River from his brother. His administration proved to be relatively stable in those early years. Sun Jian and Sun Ce's most senior officers , such as Zhou Yu , Zhang Zhao , Zhang Hong , and Cheng Pu remained loyal ; in fact it was mentioned in Romance of the Three Kingdoms that Sun Ce had at his deathbed reminded Sun Quan that "in internal matters , consult Zhang Zhao , in external matters , consult Zhou Yu." Thus throughout the 200s Sun Quan under the tutelage of his able advisors continued to build up his strength along the Yangtze River. In early 207 , his forces finally won complete victory over Huang Zu , a military leader under Liu Biao , who dominated the Middle Yangtze.
In winter of that year , the northern warlord Cao Cao led an army of some 200,000 to conquer south to complete the reunification of China. Two distinct factions emerged at his court on how to handle the situation. One , led by Zhang Zhao , urged surrender whilst the other , led by Zhou Yu and the young diplomat Lu Su , opposed capitulation. In the finality, Sun Quan decided to oppose Cao Cao in the Middle Yangtze with his superior riverine forces. Allied with the warlord Liu Bei and employing the combined strategies of Zhou Yu and Huang Ga i, they defeated Cao Cao decisively at the Battle of Red Cliffs.
In 220 , Cao Pi , son of Cao Cao , seized the throne and proclaimed himself to be the Emperor of China, ending the nominal rule of the Han Dynasty. At first Sun Quan nominally served as a Cao Wei vassal with the Cao Wei-created title of Prince of Wu, but after Cao Pi demanded that he send his son Sun Deng as a hostage to the Cao Wei capital Luoyang and he refused , in 222 , he declared himself independent by changing era name. It was not until the year 229 that he formally declared himself to be emperor.
Because of his skill in gathering important , honourable men to his cause, Sun Quan was able to delegate authority to capable figures. This primary strength served him well in gaining the support of the common people and surrounding himself with capable generals.
Sun Quan died in 252 at the age of 70. He enjoyed the longest reign among all the founders of the Three Kingdoms. He was succeeded as Emperor of Eastern Wu by his son Sun Liang.
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